


Hearts Full of Stars

by halcyonquintants (foxmoon)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, Light Angst, Pining, Romance, Sharing a Bed, Sickfic, Spooning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-24
Updated: 2018-06-24
Packaged: 2019-04-27 01:25:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14414634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxmoon/pseuds/halcyonquintants
Summary: Lance is critically injured during a battle with the Galra. When the cryo-replenisher fails to detect the presence of latent venom in his blood stream, Allura remains by his side to help him recover.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading my very first Voltron fanfic! Apologies for any errors, this is unbeta'd.

Allura pulled off her helmet, sweaty hair sticking to her skin after another intense battle. Voices of her fellow paladins crackled over the helmet com, but there wasn't time to listen. She emerged from Blue, and didn't look back as she headed straight for the medical wing. Every step closer made her chest ache with dread. Echoes of her footsteps through the corridors kept tempo with the pounding of her heart. _Stay strong._

It was, as usual, quiet there. Long ago when the castle bustled with activity, the infirmary was a place where incredible research unfolded, and healing wonders were discovered. Now it was a dark, hollow room. A tomb, with one precious body aglow in a capsule of glass. Allura stood before Lance just as she had done every quintant since he was placed there.

“We did it, Lance. We got the key to the controls of Qithrenn base. I know you would've been right there with us.” She looked down at her feet, allowing herself a moment of vulnerability. “I’m afraid there are more battles ahead, and your absence is keenly felt.”

The large room swallowed the sound of her shaky voice, carried it everywhere except to the one she wanted to hear it most. She looked back up at Lance.

“Keith is back also. He came to help as soon as he discovered you were hurt. So, I suppose that means I'm keeping Blue warm for your return.” Tears threatened to gather, prickling her eyes. She breathed in to collect herself. “It'll be like old times, besides, I can tell that Blue misses you.”

Lance's eyes remained closed, of course. His hands rested by his sides with curled fingers that Allura longed to twine with her own. All this time she had refused to touch the cryo-replenisher. It scared her just how tempted she felt to open it just so she could… do what, exactly? Hold him? Brush her fingers through his hair and soothe his pain? His injuries had been substantial, but surely he felt no pain at the moment, if he felt anything at all. She clenched her hands into fists.

Their first encounter with the Galra at Qithrenn played over and over in her mind. Could they have done anything different to avoid this? The Galra seemed to know that they were coming, and had unleashed a trio of robeasts that worked relentlessly to separate the paladins to prevent them from forming Voltron. It knew just how to hone in on their individual weaknesses in order to spread them far and wide into five awaiting defense squadrons. Allura saw Red crashing in the distance, but a Galra battalion had her pinned at a cliff’s edge. Their coms had been disabled by the robeast’s repeated sonic blasts, so she had no way of knowing where the others had gone. It all appeared undeniably intentional that she should be the one to see Lance fall to his doom.

It turned out that In the firestorm that followed his crash, Lance had been ejected from Red, and bravely fought the Galrans on foot. His rifle was no help to him in close combat, so he’d put his new broadsword to use. The broadsword he had only just unlocked.

“You incredible, sweet… _idiot_. I told you to work on your stance.” Lance’s peacefully resting form became blurred by hot tears. She blinked them away. “The second you come out of this thing, that's what we'll do. I promise.” She laughed to herself. “Or maybe after you have a spa day, as you call it, to recover.”

“ _Princess,_ ” came Coran’s voice over her earring com. “ _The meeting starts in ten minutes.”_

“Yes, thank you. I'll be there at once.” She wiped her eyes. It was time to finalize their plans, and it would seem that it must be carried out minus one essential role. But first, she inspected Lance's status log for his vitals.

His heart rate and inhalation were elevated compared to baseline. How could that be? Perhaps he was dreaming. Curious, she inspected other biological data. The adrenaline readout displayed an increase, along with elevated levels of dopamine. A norepinephrine spike made her arch an eyebrow, as all signs pointed toward the obvious. She studied the history, going back through the past few quintants, and recognized the pattern. Her face bloomed with heat and she took a step back.

“Really, Lance. How can you know I'm here?” She folded her arms and looked away. Even in a medically induced coma he couldn't shake his attraction towards her, as indicated by his biological symptoms. At the recognition of her own elevated pulse and the swooping sensation in her stomach, she softened. It meant he was still there, somewhere. And it wasn’t as though he could control it.

 _“Princess?”_ Coran’s voice again.

“Coming!”

Allura took in one last long look at Lance, lingering on the restful features of his face, then headed off to tend to business.

///

When Allura returned the following morning, Hunk and Pidge were already there and in the midst of a conversation before Lance’s cryo-replenisher. Allura hung back, sensing that this was something private among the Earth-born friends. She could hear their conversation from the distance, which often invoked a wedge of guilt. The humans weren't used to her aural range. She waited to discern whether she could join or leave them alone for a while longer.

“Allura must've visited him last night. Take a look as his vitals.” Pidge adjusted her glasses and squinted at the Altean glyphs on the hovering screen.

“I can't read that. But let me guess, sudden blood flow to the genitals.”

Pidge cringed, and shot him a glare over her glasses. “What? No! It doesn't go into that kind of detail, thank God. Just shows that he responded innately to her presence. He's gonna be okay. I mean, I'm no medical expert, but it's a basic response to stimuli. It correlates to other times she’s visited.”

Hunk laughed. “Right. But we’re his best friends, you mean he doesn’t respond to us?”

“Uh, no. He shouldn’t be responding to her either; he’s completely knocked out. Makes me think it has something to do with their shared connection to the blue lion,” Pidge said, “but what do I know? I understand way more about computers than I do about the human brain.”

“Yeah. Let alone an Altean brain. Oo, maybe she has alien pheromones he can’t resist since he’s sooo in love with her.”

Allura wanted to sink into the floor with embarrassment. She couldn’t let this conversation go on without them knowing she was there, so she continued into the room and smiled to feign ignorance. “Hello Hunk, Pidge. How is Lance doing?”

“Oh, hi princess. He’s much better, just needs to wake up,” said Hunk, and knocked on the glass of the cryo-replenisher for good measure. “Poor guy. He’s gonna be starving when he gets out of there. I’d make his abuelita’s greatest hits, if I had black beans, and pork, and rice, and plantains, and—”

“Stop. I’d kill for some earth food right about now.” Pidge opened the control panel to the cryo pod and began inspecting it curiously.

Allura smiled. “I can see if we have the closest approximation. He wouldn’t care if it’s not the same, he’d be touched.”

“There’s actually a small percentage of internal healing left to do.” Pidge gestured to the cryopod’s read-out, but Allura’s gaze hadn’t left Lance. Pidge sighed. “You know, I could rig this so you can keep track of it from your station on the bridge if you wanted. I’m surprised that it doesn’t do that already. Maybe it’s not essential, but there’s gotta be an Altean version of a REST API it can tap into.”

“Hmm.” Hunk looked up in thought. “If it’s not already there, there’s a good reason for it. Everything here is structured so carefully. Adding another line of code might break everything down on a ship this ancient.”

“I’m sure it’s routed somewhere on the bridge anyway, which means there has to be a connection in place, we just have to then divert it to Allura’s station.” Pidge began to hunt through the operating system of the diagnostic program.

A few ticks later, there was a familiar click of a released latch followed by a pneumatic hiss. Allura gasped as the healing pod slid open before her eyes. Lance, still unconscious, fell out of the pod and straight into her arms. “ _Oof!”_ She held him steady, but his full weight rested against her from an awkward angle.

“Um, Pidge? What did you do?” Allura adjusted his lanky form so his hair didn’t tickle her nose, but now his face was pressed into the crook of her neck and shoulder.

Pidge lifted her hands off the display panel. “Oh. Oops. I don’t know! I didn’t do it.”

Lance groaned, and his arms began to grapple for purchase. Allura took a few careful steps back so that his feet were clear of the lip of the healing pod.

“Lance?” Allura held him firmly in place.

He attempted to put more weight on his feet, but wobbled at the knees. “Mmmffm,” he uttered.

She shivered at the warm vibration of his voice against her neck. “L-Lance, can you hear me?” She gently pushed him out to arm’s length. His head rolled slightly until he fully found his bearings. He blinked away the remaining haze.

Allura smiled brightly. “Hi.”

“A-Allura…!” he said on a whoosh of breath. His eyes searched hers in relieved bewilderment. “You’re alive!”

She bit her lip. Words scattered as her heart fluttered like bird wings in her chest. It touched her that his first thought upon waking was her safety, and she tried not to presume too much about what that meant his last thought might’ve been before he fell unconscious.

His grip on her tightened, and his gaze dropped to her lips then back up. “We keep meeting like this.”

She rolled her eyes but couldn’t fight the laughter that bubbled up from inside. “Yes, it appears so. Are you all right?”

He gave her a sideways grin, then nearly collapsed against her again as he attempted to take a step.

“Careful. Come on, let's get you somewhere to lie down. Early ejection from a replenisher can sometimes make you feel a bit off for a while.”

Hunk joined Allura in helping to keep Lance upright, who winced at the effort.

“Feel hungover. Haven’t really been hungover, but this is what I think it’d feel like,” Lance said, squeezing his eyes shut.

“You should’ve seen what you looked like when we put you in there,” Hunk said. “Your eyes were all swollen shut with bloody gashes on your face. Gnarly as hell.”

“Oh, god!” Lance’s voice cracked. “Don’t tell me my face is messed up!”

“No, you look fine.” Allura smiled. But just as she said so, she noticed the glassy look in his eyes, and the ashen tone of his skin. She looked back at the cryopod in puzzlement.

Lance remained fretful. “Do you mean fine, like, handsome...? Or like, I look awful but you don’t want to hurt my feelings fine?”

“Lance is back,” said Pidge from behind them.

“Your wounds are healed—” Allura began.

“No cool, girl-attracting scars, though,” added Hunk.

Lance made a slight, somewhat inconsolable noise, then sagged between them.

Allura glanced up at Lance as they waited for the lift that would take them to the habitation wing of the ship. “At least not on your face.” Her gaze lingered over his features—his expressive eyes, his smooth, light brown skin. She followed the line of his jaw down to his exposed neck, and the little dip at his clavicle. There, peering out of the top of his shirt was a pale scar. She tilted her head and wondered how far down it went. Before her gaze ventured any further, she quickly looked back up to him.

He blinked at her, eyes dark and slightly unfocused. “So...where else was I injured?”

“All over, I’m afraid.”

The lift doors opened for them. Lance made another attempt to stand firm on his own feet so he could enter unassisted. Allura lessened her grip on him. He grasped for her reflexively.

“I don’t—”

“It’s okay, I won’t let you fall.” She looked over to Hunk and Pidge. “I’ve got him from here I think. Pidge, could you please go back and check on that cryo-replenisher to see why it ejected him early? And double check the blood chemistry readings, something’s still not right.”

“You got it.” Pidge walked off and tugged at Hunk to follow.

Once alone in the lift, Allura studied Lance again. His eyes were a bit glassy and red, perhaps he was running a fever. She could tell that he wasn’t faking his current state of weakness, either. Allura pressed her lips together and furrowed her brow.

“It’s freezing,” Lance said.

Allura touched his forehead with her fingertips to assess his body temperature. “You’re burning up.”

“That feels nice.” He closed his eyes briefly, but continued to shiver.

The lift doors opened before she gave in to touching him again. They reached Lance’s room, and Allura helped him inside, careful not to trip over the elaborate gaming system. Lance immediately went for the bed and collapsed in a heap over the blankets.

“ _Allura,”_ came Pidge’s voice over her ear crystal. “ _You were right. There’s some kind of latent compound in his bloodstream that became active when he reached a certain healing percentage. I’ll use the data it collected to see if I can figure out what it is and how to stop it. Might need an actual blood sample.”_

“All right. His fever is worsening, let’s move quickly.”

While waiting for the others, she helped Lance settle under the blankets. He moved gingerly, and sucked through his teeth when he put pressure on his left side. Blood bloomed through the fabric of his shirt. Alarmed, Allura lifted up the material to discover one of the slash wounds on his side had begun to reopen. Before her eyes, abrasions and gashes gradually reappeared across his abdomen and chest.

Pidge’s findings combined with this new symptom sparked a memory from thousands of years ago. _No!_

“Coran,” Allura called over her ear crystal. She tried to keep her voice steady. “We need immediate help in Lance’s room. He’s been poisoned by meerinphex venom. I should’ve known something wasn’t right with the cryopod ejected him, and now the high fever.”

There was a pause. _“Princess, meerinphexes were eradicated when Altea_ — _I-I’m not sure if we have antivenom in the castle.”_

“Maybe Lotor can help?”

Coran didn't reply, though she trusted him to do what was best. Allura moved to step away from the bed, feeling a great need to pace, but Lance grasped her hand and looked up at her bewildered through the fog of fever.

“Don’t leave.”

Allura immediately sat on the edge of his bed and kept his hand cradled in hers. “I won’t.”

“Ugh, I feel horrible.” He squeezed his eyes shut and burrowed deeper into the blankets, seeking warmth. “What’s happening to me…”

“It appears that one of the Galran blades was laced with powerful venom from an arachnid indigenous to Altea.”

“Spider venom? I hope it wasn’t radioactive.” He chuckled weakly to himself.

She had no idea what he meant, but to hear him laugh filled her with hope. Without thinking, she smoothed disheveled strands of hair from his face.

“It feels amazing when you touch me,” Lance said, brow creased and eyes closed.

Allura’s breathing almost ceased at such a confession, until she noticed that her touch was indeed helping him. The reopening of wounds slowed, his fever stopped climbing. Curious, she closed her eyes and focused intently on the essence of the universe swirling around her in motes of invisible ether. It reacted to her attention with incandescence, and the ancient thrum of the cosmos washed over her. _Please, help him…_ On her next exhale, quintessence floated down to coat Lance in the same ethereal glow. The wounds that had reopened began to fuse. Abrasions of deep purple faded to yellow.

Allura opened her eyes and found Lance staring up at her with unfettered adoration. She swallowed, throat suddenly terribly dry. Before she could get swept away by how special she felt in his presence, she touched his forehead. “It worked! Fever is gone.” She drifted a hesitant hand over his abdomen. “Mind if I—”

He lifted his shirt again so she could inspect his wounds. They were completely healed over. His stomach rose and fell with steady breaths that were no longer erratic from pain. His skin was smooth over lean muscles, and most of the battle scars had faded. Excuses to touch him rose up in her mind, and she fought them away. But not before he cottoned on that she was admiring him.

He gave a coy smile. “I should get mortally wounded more often.”

Allura looked up in slight exasperation, though most of it directed toward herself for being so obvious. “We still don’t know if that neutralized the poison.”

Lance sat up just as there was a knock at the door. It opened immediately thereafter, and Pidge, Hunk, and Keith rushed in, each of them wearing expressions of concern for their friend.

“We heard from Coran,” said Pidge. “How’s he doing?”

“Better, for now.” Allura turned to face outward and placed her hands on her lap.

Pidge sat on the floor. “Lotor said he knows where the antivenom should be stored, but getting it will be a problem.”

“Yeah, a big, central command system-sized problem.” Hunk raised an eyebrow at Lance. “Uh, but you look totally fine. So maybe we don’t have to infiltrate Haggar’s lab after all!” His voice rose to a hopeful pitch.

“Yeah. You should’ve seen it. Allura used quintessence to heal me--who needs a cryo-regenerator, right? It was incredible.” Lance flexed his arms and stretched his neck to demonstrate how much better he felt. “I’m like new!”

“That’s, uh… great,” said Keith. He leaned back against the door’s threshold and folded his arms. “We could really use your help out there.”

“It’s true,” said Pidge. “After you get some rest.”

Allura stood and smiled around the room. “I’ll let you catch him up on what’s been happening on Qithrenn. I need to check in with Coran and Shiro.” She let her smile linger on Lance, who met it with one of his own, then left the room.


	2. Chapter 2

Once everyone had finally stopped fussing over him, Lance headed for the shower to wash away the grime of several days since the attack. The cryo-regenerator had kept him mostly clean, but sweat from the fevers made him feel, well, gross. He returned to his room in a far better state on one hand, but on the other, his body started aching again. Badly enough that he almost forewent his nightly relaxation routines. Either the venom hadn’t been eradicated completely, or he was just sore from the entire ordeal. The last thing he wanted to deal with was insomnia on top of everything else. He forced himself through the face mask, the lavender oil, the meditation, and at last lay down on his bed and reached for his noise-cancelling headphones.

Someone knocked at his door.

Lance considered ignoring it, but they’d all been so worried about him he didn’t want to cause any further alarm. He groaned as he stood and hobbled to the door. It slid open to reveal Allura in a long, silk robe, her hair in a loose braid with soft, curly strands around her face. He really should be used to it by now, everyone else seemed to be, but the universe just stopped moving at the sight of her. He might have even gasped in disbelief that she made an active decision to come and stand before _his_ door dressed for bed.

“Oh no…” she said, hand flying to cover her mouth.

Well, that wasn’t exactly flattering. Did he forget to wash off the mask? He felt of his cheeks to make sure, and his skin was hot to the touch.

“Oh, no.” He echoed.

“I came to check on you. It looks like your fever has returned.”

“Yeah, I guess so. I felt achy earlier and was hoping I was just sore after everything.” He lifted the hem of his shirt to inspect whether his wounds had begun to return. They hadn’t, but he might’ve been paying more attention to whether or not Allura took the opportunity to peek at his abs like she did earlier.

Allura didn't look. He sheepishly lowered his shirt.

She picked at the trim on the sleeve of her robe. “Should I stay with you? Just in case.”

“I'd like that.” Lance didn’t move at first.

Allura raised her eyebrows pointedly. “Now or never then.”

“Oh, yeah. Come, uh, come in.” He stood aside for her to enter, then closed the door.

She glided past him, her lovely scent drifting by his nose. She stopped with her back to him and looked down, her hands curled into fists at her sides. “I'm sorry. It seems I'm no match for meerinphex venom.”

Lance moved to her side. “No, what you did was incredible and it helped me like you wouldn't believe. But, uhhh...” He scratched the back of his head. “Maybe you just needed to keep it going a bit longer?”

“Perhaps. We need to rule out that this isn’t a fluke. We didn’t test your blood sample after I healed you, and clearly that was a mistake.” She looked down at her hands, a worry line creasing her brow.

His heart stuttered at how defeated she looked. What nerve did this stupid ancient spider have to think it could make her feel so outclassed? He took her hands in his, and brushed his thumbs over her wrists reassuringly, noting how cool they felt to his feverish skin. He swallowed thickly and steadied his breaths. They’re just hands for crying out loud. Oh, but they’re _her_ hands, and she wasn’t pulling them away. When he finally got the nerve to look up at her, she was watching the patterns he made over her wrists, a soft smile on her lips.

“How do you feel now?” She asked and looked up at him at last.

Like he might explode and melt to the floor at the same time, which is how he always felt when she looked at him. His pulse rushed in his ears, and all the words he wanted to say clogged his throat. What would happen if he blurted out that she made him feel like the universe was made for her, like all the stars they passed in the sky were obviously born in her eyes and those beautiful, giant nebulas were in the shape of her hair. He wasn’t sure what was worse, how the fever made standing painful, or how his stomach felt like it might drop to the floor he was so nervous. He did not want to fuck this up, and lately he felt like that’s what he did best. All of those thoughts swirled through his brain in a matter of seconds to culminate in:

“Good.”

“Good?”

“I mean, nice.” Dammit that wasn’t better than good, was it? He cringed inwardly.  

Her cheeks turned a lovely mauve color and she rocked on her heels. “I mean, earlier you said it felt amazing when you, um.”

“Oh, quiznak. I said that out loud?”

Allura laughed. “Indeed, though I’m glad you did. I might not’ve tried the quintessence.” She tugged him toward her and wrapped her arms around him in a firm hug. He swayed from euphoria, and a bit of fatigue, and returned the embrace on reflex. Nothing on Earth or space could possibly feel better than this.

She tilted her head to rest it against his chest. “I was so worried, Lance. Then you got better and I should’ve known it would be too good to be true. Please, let this be a fluke.”

“Oh, I know. Maybe the venom affected my immune system?”

She sighed. “Your heart beats so fast.”

His mouth moved to speak, but nothing came out. Whatever else he’d been about to say scattered like leaves. He closed his eyes and smoothed his hand down the bumps of her braided hair, committing the texture to memory with his palm.

“I should let you get some sleep, but I’m afraid to leave you like this,” she said after their hug had lingered in silence for some time. “The heat is just radiating from you like an Altean summer.”

“Lying down would be nice.” He winced as he bent one knee then the other.

“You get settled and I’ll see if Pidge is awake to do another round of tests.”

They parted from the embrace, and he stood there lamely with his hands by his sides. How could he go from holding Allura in his arms to doing mundane things like pulling back blankets and fluffing a pillow. The two were on completely different planes of existence. He moved mechanically toward the bed as Allura contacted Coran and Pidge.

He didn’t make it too far before a piercing sensation struck his back, and he recoiled with a painful cry. Allura was at his side in under a tick, and her eyes grew wide with horror as a patch of blood appeared on his shirt. He didn’t have to look to know the wounds were returning, as his skin burned in all the places where the Galran blades met his flesh. Allura helped him into the bed, her cool touch soothing the agony, and slowed the spread of the venom in his veins. She closed her eyes and pulled quintessence from the air around them, then directed the energy over his body in a tingling aura. He vaguely noticed commotion over her shoulder as Shiro and Keith arrived. Allura’s concentration broke, and she slouched from the effort it had taken to summon unspent quintessence. Lance’s wounds healed, again, but the fever remained.

Shiro brought with him a mobile medical interface system, and projected Lance’s biochemistry readings in the air so they could all look it over. “Not good,” he said. “The best I can suggest is to keep on healing him until we get the antivenom. The others are asleep, and we don’t have a good plan yet, but say the word and I’ll wake them up.”

“We can’t afford to wait. If you think you can carry out the mission without me, please do. I don’t want to leave him,” said Allura.

Lance wanted to ask her to marry him on the spot, but he still had the wherewithal to recognize that it was the fever talking. He blinked his stinging eyes and sighed.

“I think we can, but that would mean trusting Lotor with Lance’s life,” said Keith. “Providing the intel he has given us is legitimate.”

Allura didn’t respond immediately. She slowly sat on the edge of Lance’s bed and glared a hole in the floor.

Shiro watched her. “Princess, I see that makes you hesitate.”

“I—I do have concerns. He has helped us immensely…” She shook her head. “We’ve quadruple checked our medicinal stores to verify we have no antivenom?”

“We looked everywhere,” said Shiro. “Unless you can think of another place, Haggar’s lab might be the only solution.”

“This also puts our mission on Qithrenn on hold,” Keith added.

“Ever since they took out Lance, they haven’t tried anything as drastic as they did then. I think they expected it to break us, and we’d have no choice but to back down,” said Allura. “But we have another paladin on our side.”

They all looked at Keith, who averted his eyes and shifted his weight.

Sensing his discomfort, Lance changed the subject back to the matter at hand. “If they have blades laced with venom on Qithrenn, shouldn’t they also have the antivenom there? I know I’m sick and probably make no sense right now but seems pretty stupid to have such a deadly poison without the cure really close by just in case. Think about it—whoops, sorry Bob, central command  is too far away to get here in time with the cure.”

A thoughtful silence followed, then Keith folded his arms. “He’s right.”

“Aha! Keith said I’m—Ooowww…” Lance doubled over.

“Except for the part about there being a Galran named Bob.”

Lance then discovered that laughing was painful, too.

Allura held up a hand. “All right. I like where you’re going with this. It could be dangerous, but comparatively less risky than infiltrating Haggar’s laboratory. Please wake the others and pursue it at once. Hopefully Coran will agree. Report back to me how things go, and if you need me to help form Voltron I’ll do my best to make it there. Now I’m going to focus on healing him, and this time I’ll try to keep the energy going longer without weakening myself too much.”

“We won’t let you down,” Keith said. He looked to Lance. “Either of you.”

When they left, Lance slouched back in the bed. “I don’t know much about venom, but it seems weird for it to regenerate.”

“Perhaps it is weird, for an Earth creature.” Allura situated herself so that she could put her hand over his abdomen for the healing procedure. As much as he wanted her to, she didn’t make actual contact with his body. Instead, her hand hovered mere centimeters above him, close enough that every nerve turned its attention to that one hand-shaped spot.

Lance drew in a deep breath and just stared up at her. Nothing happened at first. She resituated herself, and bit her lip as she attempted to refocus. Still nothing. With a frustrated huff, she stretched her neck and rolled her shoulders back.

“Come on, I know I can do this.”

“You absolutely can.”

She smiled, lip still caught in her teeth, and he fell more in love with her. As she steadied her breathing, his attention slipped down from her face to drift over the exposed skin of her throat and shoulder where her robe gaped. A small line of lace trim caught his eye. It took a great deal of willpower, of which he had very little after everything, to not let his gaze wander any further. He looked up at the ceiling.

“Maybe it’ll help if you, uh…” He fumbled around and grasped for her hand.

She threaded her fingers through his. “Yes, physical contact may help.”

And so she tried again. He closed his eyes. Finally, he sensed the glow of quintessence through his eyelids. The fever lifted within moments, but she kept it going for good measure. He smiled at the ephemeral bliss coursing through him until he realized her grip on his hand had weakened.

He opened his eyes. “Allura?”

She pressed her free hand to her temple, and swayed unsteadily. Lance scooted over to leave enough space on the bed, and helped her down to rest on her back.

“Thank you. I’m afraid that’s all I can do until I give myself time to recharge.”

He stretched out on his side, facing her, head propped up with his hand. “As long as you’re fully aware that you’re lying in my bed.”

She assessed her surroundings, then looked up at him. “Yes, I’d just feel better if… well, I’d like to stay here tonight, if that’s all right with you.”

His heart did a somersault in his chest. “Whoa, um…I mean, _yes._ ” He ran a hand through his hair nervously, not believing his luck. “Er, well, I could sleep on the—”

She sat up to remove her robe, then slid under the blanket. After shifting to her side to face him, he became hyper aware of the thin gossamer nightgown strap over her shoulder and how it contrasted with the rich brown of her skin. He shifted his hips away from her, breath stuttering.

“Or not! Sleeping together is a completely fine option also. I’m cool with it. I can handle it; I’m an adult. We’re both adults here. Well, I’m eighteen and you’re, uh…” He sobered. By her appearance, she was around his age, but she could be hundreds of years old. How did Alteans age? Would she still be youthful and gorgeous when he’s hunched over and gray?

“Good. I… should stay. Just in case.” She yawned and wiggled until she settled into a more comfortable position, which was an inch and a half closer to him.

He was going to burst into flames any second. How on earth could he possibly stay cool through this? The most beautiful girl he’s ever seen was lying next to him in his bed, had been at his side all day through a terrifying illness, had shared a lingering hug with him that _she_ had initiated. He turned over so he faced the wall as he struggled through the tide of arousal and longing and affection he felt for her.

Then she snuggled up to him, her body flush against his back with a protective arm draped over his side, and he slammed his eyes shut. All bets off, it was going to be a long night. At least from this position, she couldn’t tell the very prominent effect she had on him at the moment. He swallowed hard and thought about the scariest, freakiest looking aliens he’s seen so far on this adventure across the breadth of space. Then he felt bad--they couldn’t help how they evolved.

Still, her embrace was undeniably relaxing. The rhythm of her pulse and her steady breathing helped bring his down to match. He let go of the last thread of tension, and felt heavier as he succumbed to overwhelming fatigue.

Miraculously, he did manage to fall asleep, but it wasn’t for long. He opened his eyes to near-darkness, save for the ambient glow of the track light above his bed. The castle ship was still in the night cycle; so probably only an hour had passed. Or maybe closer to a varga.

Allura had turned the other way in her sleep, making him the big spoon, with his arm cradled under hers and nestled against her breasts. Her bottom was pressed against his groin, and her shoulder rose and fell in a languid rhythm against his chest. He blinked to make sure it wasn’t a dream. He shifted slightly to relieve the pins and needles in the arm under his pillow, and realized their legs were tangled. She shifted also, and made a contented sound in her sleep.

This was all well and good. Incredible, even. But inevitably he found himself in the same predicament he was in earlier. Every slight movement caused her bottom to brush against his erection, and it became almost impossible to not grind back. So he put some distance between them, scooting his back to the wall. He propped up on his elbow.

“Uhh, Allura?”

She stirred, and arched with a stretch. “Mmm? Oh!” She turned to her back and stared up at him. “Is everything okay?”

“S-so far.”

“Good.”

“Yeah.”

She licked her lips, and not for the first time, he was consumed with the need to kiss her.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” She tilted her head.

“Like...what?” A wave of panic coursed through him.

“You look a bit hungry and a bit sad at the same time.”

He didn’t know how to answer that. How _could_ he answer that? Should he go with the truth, or concede to the hunger idea. He _was_ hungry, now that she’d put the thought in his head. If her hugs took him to a different level of reality, what would kissing do? Oh, get a grip. There’ve been plenty of kisses before. _But not with her._

“To tell you the truth, Allura, I really want to kiss you.” He set his jaw and curled his fingers, bracing for the rejection. He’d been crass and careless towards her in the past, with immature lines and unfounded confidence. Why she was being so kind to him right now, he couldn’t fathom. She wouldn’t act this way just because he’d been wounded and fallen ill, would she? He’d been on the receiving end of pity affection before that amounted to nothing. Guilt swept in to fill the gaps laid bare by vulnerability. No. She wouldn’t do that.

“I’d like you to,” she said, her voice soft, but sincere.

He blinked. “What?”

She smiled and gazed up at him through dark lashes. “Please?”

He searched her expression for any indication that this could be a prank, but all he found was open honesty and genuine adoration. With a shaky hand, he reached out to touch her face, and she leaned into it, making his heart soar. He cupped her cheek fully, strands of her hair slipping through his fingers as he cradled her cheek. He brushed a thumb over the pink crescent shapes there, and marveled at the otherworldly colors in her eyes as if he hadn’t already done so a thousand times. Pulled through remnants of trepidation by the momentum of his own desire, or gravity, or the ancient turn of the universe, he closed the distance between them and pressed his lips to hers. She tilted her face up to meet his, to deepen the kiss, and her strong arms slid around his back.

Their lips parted, only to meet again in a series of little kisses that increased in intensity. Her tongue grazed his lip and he was done for. He opened to her, angling his head, and a little moan was caught in the back of her throat. That sound sent a jolt of desire straight downward. He kissed her harder, spurred on by her taste and her eagerness. His heart beat so loudly in his chest that he almost couldn’t sense anything else, until she wound her legs around one of his, and pulled him down to lay across her. Her hands splayed over his back and found their way up to tangle in his hair, and he couldn’t breathe for how brilliant it felt. He broke the kiss to gasp for air and stared down at her, both of them panting and flushed.

“That was…”

“Good?” Allura offered. “Nice?”

He smirked, recalling how he’d used those words earlier. “You know, just okay.”

“Tch.” She playfully shoved at his shoulder.

“I dunno, maybe you have a word in Altean that could describe it, but I can’t think of one in English or Spanish.” He furrowed his brow, thinking.

She tucked her chin to her shoulder to hide her blush. “See, you really can be charming when you aren’t trying.”

“Oh? I might have to kiss you again to see if it helps jog my memory.” He waggled his eyebrows.

Allura laughed.

“Still charming?”

“Don’t push it.” She circled her arms around his shoulders and lifted up to kiss him.

He melted into the kiss, and almost forgot how unprecedented it was that she seemed to want him back until a nervous swoop went through him. He parted the kiss and rested his forehead against hers, eyes closed. “This is…” A knot formed in his throat. “I like you, Allura. So much. I mean, I—” He sighed and moved to kiss her temple.

She traced soothing patterns up and down his back with her hand. “I don’t understand. Don’t you also like video games and your cow?”

He froze. “Well, yeah. But that’s different.”

“You want to kiss your cow and your video games?” She gave him a coy side-eye.

He blinked at her, then laughed. “No, I definitely don’t.”

“Good. I was beginning to worry I had some rather strange competition.”

“Jealous over Kaltenecker, princess? Nevermind, I’ll let it go. It’s flattering, and you know, it’s about time you came to terms with how handsome and tempting I am. It must’ve been hard for you to hold back.” He preened.

This time she shoved him for real, onto his back. She straddled his hips with a triumphant grin. “I knew you’d be insufferable about this.”

Lance stared up at her, a little stunned, and a lot fascinated. The dim aqua glow over his bed cast ethereal highlights over her skin, accenting the muscle in her arms and the swell of her breasts. He put a tentative hand on her thigh and squeezed when she didn’t swat it away.

“I like you too,” she said, tucking locks of his hair back into place. Her fingertips went on to trace the shell of his ear, then down his jawline. “More than. I care for you, and you make me laugh like no one else.”

Warmth spread through his chest at the tenderness in her voice. She lowered herself to drop kisses along his jaw.

“ _Princess, we need you!”_  Allura bolted upright and put a hand to her earring.

Lance overheard. “Great timing, Shiro,” he muttered.

“I’m coming at once,” she responded, then looked down to Lance apologetically. “I must go. Please let me know the second you start feeling bad again.”

He brought her knuckles to his lips and kissed them. “I will, princess.”

She tilted her head and stared at him affectionately, then climbed off the bed. He watched the robe flutter around her as she slid into it and swept out of the door.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took forever to finish! Season 6 was released before I finished, so this has become more of a diversion from canon. I tried to keep a similar feel, but obviously things between Allura and Lance progress a bit more quickly in this fic than it has in canon. :)

Blue took off like a laser straight toward Qithrenn. She swung erratically into a partial barrel roll and almost collided into the jagged hull of ancient wreckage caught in the planet’s orbit. With clenched teeth, Allura pulled her out of the chaotic trajectory only to flip head over tail and stutter to a complete stop. She drifted sideways for a moment, and then shot forward again toward the planet.

Allura let out a whoosh of breath. It was like the first time piloting her all over again. “Come on, Blue, I’m worried about him too, but we need to pull ourselves together.” 

The lion entered Qithrenn’s turbulent atmosphere at last, but Allura continued to struggle. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply to clear her mind. Her hands loosened on the controls. She could do this.  _ They _ could do this. The lion’s course finally smoothed out over the vast ocean that encircled the island base.

In the distance, the other lions zipped through the sky to evade the blasters of the same robeast that had plagued them before. The one that brought Blue down. In the lull of battle, the Galra had managed to repair and reinforce it with a new sonic phase canon. Blue roared and swerved to and fro, thrusters creating a wavy wake on the surface of the ocean.

Allura’s heart warmed when her fellow paladins greeted her. They had managed to lead the robeast over the open sea, which absorbed its sonic blasts. It fought to regain the upper hand by rocketing toward land, but Keith cut it off with a swift dive from straight above, tearing a wide gash down the robeast’s chest. Allura lost sight of him and swooped in closer. Red appeared below the robeast’s foot, and pulled out of the way as its sonic phase canon glowed brighter. A volley of deadly blasts would undoubtedly follow.

“Keith!” the paladins cried in unison.

“I see it.” He pulled up at the last dobash. The blasts missed and were lost to the depths of the ocean. 

Allura watched the ripples shatter the surface of the water. The second time, the volley did not miss, but instead of Red, the robeast’s aim went wild, scattering blasts all around itself as it spun. There was no way to evade it. All five lions were struck. The vibrations that tore through Blue were unbearable. Allura screamed in agony, clutching her head, and blue dropped into the ocean like a stone. 

Luckily, the strewn out nature of the attack meant that each blast was not as powerful as they were when combined. Blue floated among the fish, stunned, but did not lose power. Within moments, all five paladins were well and accounted for.

“I’ve got an idea,” said Allura. She ran her fingers over the controls, thinking. “If we can get it underwater, I should be able to disable the sonic cannon with Blue--she’s in her element down here. Beat it at its own game.”

“Great. Then we can form Voltron and defeat it once and for all,” said Shiro. “Keith, Hunk, Pidge, you’re with me.”

Their faint, distant forms bolted out of the water in bubbly trails. Allura readied Blue for her plan of attack.

///

_ Three vargas later _

Allura stood with the others in a semicircle around the two cryo-pods that held Keith and Lance. They both appeared restful despite the turmoil of what had put them there. 

Hunk placed a tiny robot the size of a bee in Allura’s hand. “All right little guy, do your thing,” he said.

She approached Lance’s pod and opened the intervention dispensary panel. With immense care, she placed the delicate nano-medic that would deliver the antivenom, then closed the panel. The tiny robo-medic flew in and landed on Lance’s neck, where it administered the injection. She held her breath and stood back. Silence fell over all of them as they waited. And waited. 

A pneumatic hiss broke the tense silence at last. The cryo-replinisher sensors detected that he’d been fully healed. Lance eased awake as the door slid open.

“Lance!” Allura helped him step out and kept a protective arm around him. 

“How did I end up here again? ”

Coran helped her bear Lance’s weight. “You were fine for a good while, but without Allura there to keep you healed, your condition began to decline again. Allura was in the heat of battle, it just kept getting worse and worse. The only option I had was to put you back in.”

“Man, all that from spider venom?” Lance gestured to Keith in the pod next to his now empty one. “What’s his problem? Wait, let me guess… he was so worried about me that he got sick too?”

“Not quite,” said Allura. “That one is a longer story, but he’ll be fine. Come, you need food. I don’t think you’ve eaten since before our first battle. I’ll explain everything while you eat.”

“Yeah, cryo-pod nourishment is nice and all, but it doesn’t beat a nice plate of food goo.” He rubbed his stomach.

“We’ll hang out here with Keith. He should be healed up soon,” said Shiro. 

Lance gave Keith a meaningful glance, then sagged against Allura when Coran let go so he could close up the cryo-pod. She hooked her arm through his to help steady him. 

“Careful.”

“My legs are so wobbly.”

“I can carry you if you like.”

He looked conflicted at this idea, and glanced back over his shoulder. “Uhm…” 

She smiled. “Up to you.” They headed for the corridors.

Once they made it past the exit out of sight, he slouched against her. “Actually, yeah.” 

Allura hoisted him into her arms and carried him down the corridor. He was heavier than she expected, and of course taller than herself which made it slightly awkward, but nothing she couldn’t handle. His long legs draped over her forearm, and his arm wrapped around her back. He closed his eyes and a palpable calm washed over him. 

Her heart skipped a beat at how peaceful he looked. A few freckles stood out on the bridge of his nose and cheekbones. The corner of his mouth tugged up in a slight smile. His proximity stirred memories of their brief intimate encounter. His mouth on hers, the weight of him above her. 

“We’re here,” she said a little too jarringly as they reached the dining hall. 

He frowned, eyes still closed. “Already?”

Allura set him down. “Afraid so. Good for my back, though—you’re deceptively heavy.” 

“That’s because I work out.” Lance stretched his long limbs and flopped into the nearest seat. 

She kept her back to him to hide the eye roll and the instant flush in her cheeks at the image in her mind of his shoulder muscles mid chin-up. What the quiznack had gotten into her? She shook her head as she dispensed two bowls of food goo, and joined him on one end of the long table. As they ate, Allura recounted the events that took place after she left his room the evening before. 

“So they did just that. Forced the robeast into the ocean where I waited to jam its canon with a sonic blast of my own. It was stunned long enough for us to form Voltron and destroy it at last.”

“Yeah! I knew you could do it.” Lance smiled, but it fell short of the broad grins he’d given her in the past.

“That pleases me to hear you say.” Allura glanced downward. Her uncertainty of what to make of his demeanor reverting her to stiff politeness, as though he were some visiting diplomat and not a dear friend. Face still tilted downward, she peered up at him. “It, it means a lot to me to know you believe in me so much.”

“You’re the real deal.” His smile didn’t falter, but he stirred around the food goo despondently. “So, uh… what happened to Keith? You said he was flying Red, so I guess he, you know, had no trouble reconnecting. That’s good..”

“Yes, he could without any issues that I’m aware of. After we defeated the robeast, we went to the cliffs on the opposite side of the island where the Qithrenn defenders had established their base. They’d been working on a stealth mission to set up explosives below the Galran headquarters using a series of tunnels that run under the island. They’re all over, it turns out.”

“That doesn’t sound very stable.”

Allura grinned. “That was my initial thought, turned out they’re reinforced. But you know how the Qithrennesh have earthquake sense? They knew one was coming soon, so they rigged them to detonate when the earthquake struck. That way there’d be no way to deactivate them. But we hadn’t retrieved the antivenom yet, and that’s where Keith comes in. He went in through the tunnels and found his way into the base, stole the antivenom, and almost made it back out when his Qithrennesh guide turned on him.”

Lance stared with worry, spoon hovering partway to his mouth. 

“Shiro suspected something wasn’t right. It took too long. There was a foreshock and still no sign of him, so Shiro went straight in. He discovered Keith struggling with his injuries from his fight with the Qithrannesh turncoat, rubble all around him. Another foreshock dislodged a stone big enough to knock him unconscious just as Shiro reached him. He managed to grab Keith and carry him out before the mainshock. Shiro brought him back in the Black Lion and Red followed on her own. He’s being monitored for signs of the same venom. There’s limited antivenom until we can synthesize more.”

“Damn. That’s… I’m glad he’s okay.” He finally took the bite of food.

“Me too.” Allura gestured with a lift of her chin toward his bowl. “Is that helping?”

“Yeah.” He ate another spoonful and kept his gaze downward.

“You don’t seem certain. Is everything all right?”   


He pushed around the food goo with the spoon. It took him an unusual amount of time to respond. “You formed Voltron.”

Oh. Allura heard the ‘ _ without me’ _ in the tone of his voice. She slid her food to the side and moved her seat closer to him. “Just this once, we did. So you’d live to do it again.”

His expression softened. “Oh, yeah. Sorry.” He counted on his fingers. “But that means…”

“Keith has unfinished work with the Blades. He planned on returning as soon as we secured Qithrenn, but then this happened. As much as we’d love to have him back for good.”

Lance slouched. “Oh, right.” 

“Anyway, if there was ever an instance where we had too many paladins, I can’t think of a better problem to have. That being said, I’d be more than willing to step aside so you can pilot Blue.

“But I love having you out there with us.” He inched his hand closer to hers.

“I love it too, more than anything.” She fixated on the scant distance between their hands, the electrostatic charge, the gravity pulling her in. They hadn’t really defined what transpired between them. The danger had passed, and yet she still felt so much longing to touch him. That should be a relief, but now it felt boundless. 

He put his spoon down, and the small clang snapped her out of the trance.

“There’s something else.”

She stroked a fingertip along the seam of a tiny imperfection on the surface of the table. “Yes?”

“We kissed. That wasn’t a dream?”

Allura’s pulse took flight. She didn’t consider that he might not remember things too well. She bit her lip and fussed with her wrist guard under the table. How would he take it? It was no secret that he had feelings for her, but what if they went farther than he’d have been comfortable without the delirium of his illness. She opened her mouth to respond, but another clatter drew their attention. 

The space mice scampered to the top of the table from wherever they’d been scampering before. Plachu sniffed at Lance’s spoon. Chulatt lapped up a morsel that had spilled over. The other two picked up on Lance’s presence, and crawled up his arms to cuddle under his chin.

“Hey buddies! I missed you too. But I kinda need to talk to our princess right now,” he said through laughter as Platt slid down his arm in disappointment.

Allura watched Lance interact with the mice, and unconsciously pressed her hand over her heart. His gentleness toward the small creatures further endeared him to her, if that were even possible at this point. His kiss had left her so breathless and warm. One of the mice gave her a side eye. She mentally hushed his scrutiny and did her best to clear her mind. 

Lance met Allura’s shy gaze over the table. “Uh… what was I saying?”

“We kissed, yes. And slept together for a while.”

His face turned bright red. “So it wasn’t a dream.” He slouched in his seat. “I mean, I knew it wasn’t. I was wide awake for all of it, but it’s just hard to believe I guess.”

Allura frowned and thought over how she’d treated him in the past. He had been on the annoying side at first, but once he began to act more natural and relaxed around her, she came to know the real Lance. He made her laugh, encouraged her, put her mind at ease. As a team, they’d been so focused on universe-saving missions, conflict with the Galra, and everything in between, that quality time for forging bonds on a more personal level with any of the paladins remained scant. In the end, she had no idea how to reassure him with words, so at last she put her hand on his.

He turned his hand over so their palms pressed together and a companionable silence fell between them. Allura sensed that he, like her, had a heart full of emotions but a mouth that refused to weave them together in coherent phrases for the benefit of mutual understanding. A fear perched there on the threads. Loomed undeniably, regardless of words chosen. Not rejection, that was far too simplistic. He’d already held her in his arms and tasted her skin. It was more the fear of losing each other someday, somehow. The very inevitability of it kept their throats closed. Kept hers closed, at the very least. Then, there was Lotor...

Lance released her hand and lifted her chin with a crooked finger to look up at him. His bright smile caught her off guard.  “Mind if we go for a walk in the holodeck? I kinda want to check on Kalternecker and get some synthetic sunshine.”

“I would love you. I mean, love to.” She shielded her face in embarrassment.

“Would you now.”

“Quiet.” 

They shared a laugh.

“Who needs food goo when I have Princess Allura of Altea, paladin of the blue lion willing to spend some quality alone time with me. Come on,” he offered his hand to help her to  her feet, and she didn’t let go the whole way to the holodeck.

///

The holodeck had shifted to its Altean night simulation by the time Lance and Allura arrived. Pidge and Hunk had discovered holographic sensory enhancement tech at one of their recent trips to the asteroid market to further boost the realism of the holodeck. It didn’t match exactly to her memories of Altea, but it was close enough that she no longer felt her belief wholly suspended by the scent of metal and ozone. 

A crisp chill settled over the expansive meadow, and a dazzling arc of stars branched overhead. Lance stood next to her with his hands in his pockets, all lanky elbows and stooped shoulders. She peered up at him as he turned his gaze skyward. Emotions unmasked, but averted.

“Altea at night, huh,” he said.

Allura nodded. “Right down to the broken moon.”

“The stars look so different here,” he said. “So many of them. It’s like you have two Milky Ways!” He sighed. “Never thought I’d care about things like that.”

“It makes you miss home.”

“Yeah.”

Allura mused over the name he gave to the dense bands of stars and how much he cared for the cow. “Is milk an important resource on your planet?”

“What?” He scratched the back of his head and laughed a little when she pointed to Kalternacker’s barn. “Oh, I guess so, yeah.”

They walked along a footworn path that cut through the field. Allura remembered it from her childhood when she ran out of the castle one night. She thought her mother had called her from the gardens. It sounded so real. The air was cool and juniberry petals tickled her ankles. 

“My mother would like you. You haven’t lost your smile despite all the destruction you’ve seen. She always told me to keep in my heart the things that make me smile, even the smallest things, and it will help me through dark times.”

“My mom would like you too, though she’d assume if I brought you to meet her that we’re, uh…”

“Dating?”

“...Yeah.” He made a strange face then shook his head.

She stooped to sit in the grass, and patted the spot next to her. He joined her, folding his legs and leaning back on his hands. 

Allura watched him. “I’m sorry you’re so far away from them. I’ve no doubt they miss you just as much.” 

“It’s a good thing they’re so far away from all this war, but it makes me wonder what they were told about why I’m gone. Sometimes I can’t sleep because I picture my mom having to tell my little sister that I’m,” his voice wavered and he stopped for a tick, “dead.”

“Oh, Lance…”

“I do this for them. For you and the others also.”

Allura felt tears stinging her eyes. Lance reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. It was a simple gesture, but it sent a bolt through her heart. 

Her wrist comm beeped, and projected an image of Lotor. “Princess, I have made a breakthrough in the structural integrity matrix. It’s ready for your special touch.”

Allura stuffed away her irritation at being interrupted and gave a thin smile. “That’s wonderful. I’ll be there shortly.” 

A small projection of Coran appeared ticks after Lotor’s faded away. “Princess, exciting news! The Qithrennesh have invited us to a victory celebration in our honour. It begins midday tomorrow. We could all use a bit of fun I think. Oh, hello Lance!”

“Hey!” Lance wiggled his fingers in a little wave.

“Good to see you up and about. Rest up! Tomorrow night we celebrate.” Coran’s image disappeared. 

Allura braced herself for further interruptions, but none came. She exchanged a shy glance with Lance. “I’m sorry to leave you.”

“Why are you leaving? Oh. Almost forgot about Lotor.” He muttered something she couldn’t discern and reclined to his back with his arms folded behind his head, glare skyward.

“Come on, I’ll walk with you back to your room on the way.”

“Nah, I think I’ll hang out here for a bit longer."

Allura pursed her lips. “Okay…”

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye when she didn’t leave right away. His casual pose and that somewhat sly expression made her stomach flip. Why ever did he bother trying so hard to flirt with her when all he had to do was lounge like that. 

“We’ll talk more later,” she said, a tinge of hopefulness in her voice, and stood to leave.


End file.
